Project Judge Producer On Game Length, And Whether Major Yakuza Characters Will Appear

Project Judge producer Kazuki Hosokawa recently sat down for an interview at TGS 2018 where he talked about the game’s length, whether we’ll see any Yakuza main characters in the story, and more. [Thanks, Bahamut!]

Here are the highlights:

Around how much content is in the game?

Kazuki Hosokawa, producer: “From what has been planned by the development team, there is around as much content in this game as Yakuza 0.”

If you were to skip all the side stuff and just finish the main story, how long would it take?

Hosokawa: “If players were to just follow the main story and skip all the side stories, then players may find it a bit hard to keep up with the difficulty. In theory, the main story should take around 30-35 hours to finish, and if you finish the side stories, I imagine it would take around 70-80 hours of playtime. If you were aiming to get all the trophies, you might need 100-200 hours of gameplay. Compared to the Yakuza series, trophies in this game will be easier to get, as we’ve lowered the difficulty of getting them a bit.”

When is this game set?

Hosokawa: “The game is set in modern day. This isn’t a different Kamurocho than Yakuza’s, nor is it a parallel world. Which means that people like Goro Majima are probably living somewhere within the town.

However, as these two games are completely different games, if you were to ask right now whether any major Yakuza characters will appear in the story, I can firmly deny that none of them will. We believe that the type of drama in Yakuza is completely different than that of Project Judge’s. In order to preserve the worldview for Project Judge, we chose not to make any Yakuza characters major players in the story. But if Project Judge becomes a series, then in the future there may be a chance for some crossover.

Still, players will hear some key words that appear in the Yakuza series, such as the Tojo Clan, which is related to the main story of the game. Also, a certain mascot from Yakuza 6 will also make an appearance.”

Since this is a game about a lawyer, will there be any courtroom segments?

Hosokawa: “Yes, there will be courtroom segments. As a defense lawyer, players will need to argue for people’s innocence against the prosecutor. You will need to present evidence to fight back against the prosecutor’s arguments.”

Without hotel management, karaoke, and other elements, is there some way the protagonist can enjoy his free time?

Hosokawa: “There are several female clients who will ask you to help solve their cases and troubles, and you can get closer to them by doing so. It’s a bit like trying to get girlfriend.”

Project Judge launches in Japan, Asia, and South Korea on December 13, 2018 for PlayStation 4. The game launches in the West in 2019. Previously, we reported that Fighting Vipers and Motor Raid will be available in the game, which you can find here.